Stapling device



1927" J. D. CLEMENCE STAPLING DEVICE Filed Nov 11. 1926 :s SheetS-Sheetl l/YMlb iA/TUR,

Oct. 4!

1,644,176 J. D. CLEMENCE STAPLING DEVICE Filed Nov. 11. 1926 s Sheets-Sheet s INVE/VfU/Q Patented 0st, 4, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN DANIEL CLEMENCE, OF BURLINGTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- I-IALF T0 GEORGE C. ATKINS, OF VILLAGE OF BRONTE, ONTARIO, CANADA.

STAPLING DEVICE.

Application filed November 11, 1926, Serial No. 147,815, andin Canada November '2, 1926.

My invention relates to improvements in stapling devices and the object of the invention is to devise an improved apparatus which will-provide a convenient, efficient and economical method of forming and driving or of forming only wire staples or fasteners such as may be used for fastening covers on containers. such for example as'fruit baskets and the like, or as a fastening in 2.1 y manner where such staples may be used.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following specification.

My invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts, all ashereinafter more particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my improved device, certain interior parts being indicated in broken lines and a handle and operating lever being broken intermediately to econoinize space.

2 is a side view of Fig. 1 looking in tl c direction of the arrow in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a portion of my device, with the parts in the positions shown in 1, a top cover plate forming part of the frame being removed to show a latch lying thereunder.

4 is a plan view of the parts in the szuue positions as in Figs. 1 and 3, with this latch removed and certain interior parts lyiug within the frame being indicated in broken lines.

Figs'o. 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary plan views with an upper frame plate removed and show the arrangement of a. plunger and cams mounted in the frame between this up per frame plate and a lower frame plate.

In these four views the positions of the plunger and cams are shown in the various positions they occupy during the operation of he device.

Fig. 9 is a detached perspective view of one of a pair of bending pins forming part my device.

10 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner of using my device in fastening the cover of a basket. I

in the drawings, like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the various views.

in the form illustrated, my invention conists of a main frame 11 which frame is made up of a number of superin'iposed flat plates.

The main frame comprises upper and lower frame plates 12 and 13 respectively, which are spaced apart by spacing pieces 14 Xtending along their longitudinal edges.

Superimposed above the upper frame plate 12 is a cover plate 15which is supported in spaced relation thereabove by spacing pieces 16 located between'the upper frame plate 12 and cover plate 15 and extending along the longitudinal edges thereof.

Slidably mounted between the upper plate 12 and cover plate 15 is a latch 17 which will presently be referred to.

Formed integrally with the upper and lower frame plates 12 and 13 and extending rearwardly therefrom are two arms 18 and 19. the rear ends of which are secured to a breast plate 20.

The parts 15. 16, 12, 14 and 13 are secured together bv screws 21 and form together the fixed portions of the frame 11 in which frame the various parts of the device are mounted.

The cover plate 15 and spacing pieces 16 do not extend to the front end of the frame lldbut terminate a distance from the front en I The front end of the frame plates 12 and 13 are cut away at 22 to form a V-shaped recess 23 at the front end of the frame.

Slidably' mounted between the frame plates 12 and 13 at the rear is a plunger 24, the sides of which are straight throughout the length of the plunger with the exception of a small portion at the front end which is cut away to form inclined portions 25.

The inner edges of the spacing pieces 14 form guides for the plunger 24.

At one side of the frame 11 is mounted, between the frame plates 12 and 13, a cutter element 26 which is held in place by screws 27 which also secure the frame plates 12 and 13 together at the front. The form of this cutter element 26 will be described presently.

The cutter element 26 is spaced slightly in front of the end of the adjacent spacing piece 14 to provide an opening 28 in the side of the frame to permit insertion of a wire 63 as will be presently described.

Mounted between the frame plates 12 and 13 in front'of the plunger 24 and in the same plane therewith, are a. pair of inner cams 29 and a pair of outer cams 30.

The inner cams 29 are mounted to rotate about a pivot pin 31, which pin is located in alignment with the longitudinal center line of the plunger 24.

The lateralmarginal edges 32 of the inner cams 29 are arcs of circles struck with the pivot pin 31 as center. The front edges 33 of these cams are straight, while the rear edges consist of straight inclined portions 34 and convex curved portions 35.

The outer cams are of arcuate form with centers struck from the center of the pivot pin 31.

The inner sides of the spacing pieces 14 at the front are cut to are shape at 36 with cente s also struck from he center of the pivot pin 31 and the outer cams 30 are slidably mounted between the inner cams 29 and the arc-shaped portions 36, so that the marginal edges 32 of the inner cams 29 and the arc-shaped portions 36 of the spacing pieces 14 form bearing guides for these outer cams 30.

The inner edge 37 of the cutting element 26 is also of arc-shape and forms a continuation of the arc-shaped port-ion 36 of the adjacent spacing piece 14 so that this portion of the cutting element also forms a bearing guide for the outer cam 30 as it slides forwardly.

The edge of the adjacent outer cam 30 constitutes a cutting element which co-operates with the cutting element 26 to cut the wire as will hereinafter be explained.

Upstanding from the cams 29 and 30 are pins 88 and 39, which project upwardly through arc-shaped slots 40 and 41 in the upper frame plate 12, these slots being struck with center at the center of the pivot pin 31. These pins project above the upper frame plate 12.

The latch 17 slides upon the upper frame plate 12 and is provided with shaped openings 42 into which the pins 38 and 39 project.

The cover plate 15 is superimposed over this latch 17.

The latch. 17 may also be formed with a longitudinal slot 43, through which extends a screw 44 extending downwardly through the cover plate 15 and having threaded engagement in an orifice 59 in the upper frame plate 12. This slot and screw form an additional guide for the latch 17 in its forward and rearward movement.

The front end of the latch. 17 is formed with an inclined edge 45 and with slots 46, the purpose of which will presently be enplained. i

The plunger 24 has llXGd thereto adj acent to its rear end an upstanding crosshead 47 to which is pivotally connected by a screw 58 one end of an operating lever 48.

Intermediately of its length this lever 48 is pivoted to the frame 11 by a screw 49, the lever iaving an elongatedslot 50 through which the screw 49 passes.

The upper frame plate 12 and the cover plate 15 are each provided with an elongated slot 51 the sides of which provide a guide for the crosshead 47.

From the above it will be seen that, by means of the lever 48, the plunger 24, may be reciprocated back and forth in the frame 11.

The crosshead 47 projects through an elongated slot 52 in the latch 17, which slot is shorter than the slots 51 in the frame plate 12 and cover plate 15.

Bending pins 53 are mounted in orifices in the frame plates 12 and 13 and are supported by pin posts 54 upstanding from the upper frame plate 12.

The pins 58 carry laterally projecting wings 55 at the top ends thereof, which wings extend laterally through side openings 56 in the pin posts 54.

The bottom edges of the wings 55 are bevelled at 57 and these wings are so disposed that, when they are resting'against the top face of the upper frame plate 12, the lower ends of the pins 53 extend into the orifices in the lower frame plate 13 so that the pins lie in the path of the inner cams 29.

Also the wings 55 project laterally beyond the pin posts 54.

Leaf springs 60 are secured to the cover plate 15 and overlie the tops of the pins 53 so that they operate to normally hold the pins depressed.

A basket 61 is shown in Fig. 10 in which the cover 62 is being fastened by my device.

The construction-and operation of my device is as follows In Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the various parts are shown in their initial positions preparatory to forming and driving a staple.

In this position the plunger 24, latch 17 and cams 29 and 30 are all in their rearmost positions and the crosshead 47 is abutting against the rear ends of the slots 51 and 52 in the frame and latch 17 respectively.

Also the upstanding pins 88 and 39 carried by the cams 29 and 30 are abutting against the forward edges of the openings 42 in the latch 17 (see Fig. 3) and these pins are at the rear ends of the slots 40 and 41 in the frame plate 12.

In this initial position the cams 29 and 30 are withdrawn rearwardly so that a wire 63 may be inserted into the frame through the opening 28 in the side thereof.

This wire 63 passes transversely across the frame (see Fig. 5) and is properly positioned by its end abutting against the arcuate portion 36 of the opposite spacing piece 14.

In this position, the cams 29 and 30 are withdrawn rearwardly sufficiently to permit this free insertion of the wire 63.

The bending pins 53 are held depressed by the leaf springs 60 so that they lie in the path of the inner cams 29 and they are so positioned in the frame that they just bear against the front side of the inserted wire 63, (see Fig. 5).

Further in this initial position the outer cams 30 extend rearwardly beyond the inner cams 29 and their rear ends abut against the inclined portions 25 of the plunger 24.

When it is now desired to'form and'drive a staple, the wire 63 isfed into position as in Fig. 5 and the device is placed against a basket 61 as in Fig. 10, so that the cover 62 and side of the basket engage within the V-shaped recess 23 in the front end of the frame 11.

The lever 48 is now pulled rearwardly, the breast plate 20 being placed against the body of the operator.

By the provision of the lever 48 and breast plate 20, only one hand is required to operate the device so that the other hand is free.

As the lever 48 is moved rearwardly the crosshead 47 moves forwardly in the slots 51 and 52 in the frame and latch 17 respectively and the following cycle of operations occurs.

As the crosshead 47 moves forwardly, it slides the plunger 24 forwardly and during the first part of its forwardly movement, the rear ends of the outer cams 3O slide over the inclined portions 25 of the plunger so that after the wire has been cut, its two ends arebent at 64 about the bending pins 53 by the cams 30. as indicated in Fig. 6 in which position the parts now are, and it will be seen that the-plunger 24 has just made contact with the inclined portions 34 at the rear of the inner cams 29 and the rear ends of the outer cams 30 are still in engagement with the inclined portions 25 of the plunger 24.

As soon as the cams 3O commenced moving forwardly, the. latch 17 also was moved forwardly by the engagement of the upstanding pins 39 with the front walls of the orifices 42 in the latch, the pins 39 moving along the arcuate slots 41 in the frame plate 12.

Vith the parts in the position shown in Fig. 6, further forward movement of the plunger 24 will begin to move the inner cams 29 forwardly and also a slight further forward movement of the outer cams 30 will continue until the rear ends of the outer cams clear the inclined portions 25 of the plunger, after which these rear ends slide freely on the straight sides of the plunger and no fur ther forward movement of the outer cams 30 takes place.

In this portion of the operation, the parts move from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 7 and the latch 17 is moved forward sufliciently for its front end to pass under the wings on the bending pins 53, so that these pins are raised against the pressure of the leaf springs so as to lift-the lower ends of these bending'pins clear of the path of the inner cams 29. If these bending pins were not raised atthis point it will be clear that they would obstruct the further forward movement of the inner cams 29.

The continued forward movement of the plunger now moves the inner cams 29 from the positions shown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig.8, the outer cams 30 remaining stationary, so that the staple is further bent about its center and the bent ends 64 are driven into the sides of the basket and the top of the lid respectively to form a secure fastening for the lid.

Also in this lastmovement of the inner cams 29, the pins 38 carried thereby, are moved forwardly along the slots 40 so that, in their final positions, they are engaged against the forward edges of the orifices 42 in the latch 17.

In their final positions the inner cams project outwardly into the V-shaped recess 23 in the front end of the frame 11.

This completes the formation and driving of the staple and the plunger 24 is then withdrawn rearwardly by pushing the lever 48 forwardly and in this rearward movement of the plunger, all the parts are returned to their initial positions shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 in the following manner.

During the forward movement of the plunger 24, as has been explained, the latch 17 is not moved forwardly directly by the crosshead 47 on the plunger as the slot 52 in the latch'permits the crosshead to move freely forwardly therethrough without directly moving the latch, the latch being moved forwardly by the upstanding pins 39 carried by the outer cams 30.

When the parts are in their final forward positions shown in Fig. 8, the crosshead 47 has just reached the forward end of the slot 52 in the latchand, as has been already stated, the pins 38 and 39 are in contact with the forward edges of the orifices 42 in the latch.

As the plunger now moves rearwardly, the crosshead 47 moves along the slot 52 in the latch until it engages the rear end thereof. during which movement both latch 17 and cams 29 and 30 remain stationary.

Further rearward movement of the crosshead 47 and plunger 24 now draws the latch 17 rearwardly and the cams 29 and 30 are returned to their initial positions shown in Fig. 5 by the engagement of the pins 38 and 39 with the front edges of the orifices 12 in the latch, the pins 38 and 39 moving along the slots 40 and 41.

Also during the rearward movement of the latch, as soon as its front end withdraws from under the wings of the bending pins these pins are depressed by the leaf springs {50 into their initial positions and when the crosshead 17 has reached its rearmost position, all parts are in their original initial positions ready to form and drive another staple.

From the foregoing it will be noted that during the forward movement of the plunger 2 1, thc'latch is moved forwardly indirectly by means of theupstanding pins 39 on the outer cams 30 and that, during the rearward movement of the plunger, the latch is moved rearwardly directly by the crosshead d? and the cams 29 and 30 are moved rearwardly by the latch 17.

By positioning the bending pins 53 fur ther forwardly from the transverse center line passing through the pivot pin 31, it will be evident that the length of the staple may be reduced and the angle of the bent ends 64; made more acute.

In the foregoing description I have de scribed the use of my device in forn'iing and driving a staple, in which case the device is held in position against a basket or box, but it may also be used for simply forming the staple, in which case it is not applied to any has rat or box but the lever 4:8 is simply worked back and forth and the staples are simply formed and may be then used independently in any manner desired.

In this latter case the staple will not be fully closed in to the form shown in Fig. 8 but will fly out from between the inner cams 29 before being fully closed in. It will fly out immediately the forward edges 33 of these inner cams 29 clear the edges 22 of the recess 23.

In the form of my invention illustrated I have shown the wire 63 as being fed into the device by hand but it is to be understood that any suitable automatic feeding means might be provided, but as this could be done in many. well known ways 1 have not included it in the drawings or description.

While I have illustrated one particular arrai'igen'ient for lQClPTOCi-ltlllg' the plunger 24:, various other equivalent and well known ways of doing this might be substituted.

From the foregoing it will be evident that I have invented an improved stapling device whereby the objects of my invention have been attained.

Various modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the claims and the exact forms shown are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and I desire that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art or are specifically set forth in the appended claims. i What I claim as my invention is:

I 1. In a stapling machine of the class described, the combination with a main frame, of a plunger therein, means for reciprocating said plunger longitudinally of the frame, means for supporting a wire transversely of the frame in spaced relation in front of the plunger, a pair of opposed inner cams mounted in the frame between the front end of the plunger and the wire and in the same plane as the wire, said cams mounted to rotate through arcs about a common pivot pin, a pair of opposed outer cams also mounted in the frame between the plunger and the wire and in the same plane as the wire, said outer cams mounted to rotate through arcs of circles about the inner cams and also about the same center as the inner cams, the plunger cooperating with the cams during its forward movement to rotate, first, the outer cams forwardly towards each other and then the inner cams forwardly towards each other so that they extend beyond the forward ends of the outer cams, a pair of spaced apart pins mounted in the frame and positioned in front of and in the path of the inner cams, means for withdrawing said pins from the path of the inner cams at a predetermined position of the. cams, and means co-acting between the cams and plunger to return the cams to their original rearmost positions during the rearward movement of the plunger.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the frontend of the plunger engages the rear of the cams to move them forwardly during the forward movement of the plunger.

3. In a device according to claim 1, a latch slidably mounted in the frame, means enacting between the latch and cams whereby said latch is moved forwardly by the cams during their forward movement and the cams are rotated rearwardly by the latch during its-rearward movement, means coacting between the latch and plunger whereby the latch is moved rearwardly'during the rearward movement of the plunger, and means carried by the spaced apart pins and co-acting with the latch whereby the latch operates to raise the pins out of the path of the inner cams as it moves forwardly and to return them to their original positions as it moves rearwardly.

1. In a device according to claim 1, an upstanding pm carried by each cam, a'latch slidab'ly mounted in the frame above the inner cams as it moves forwardly and to return them to their original positions as it moves rearwardly.

5. In a device according to claim 1, an upstanding pin carried by each cam, a latch slidably mounted in the frame above the cams and plunger, said latch having openings into which said pins extend, an up standing element on the plunger engaging within an elongated orifice in the latch, laterally extending wings carried by each of said spaced apart pins, spring means normally forcing the pins downwardly to engage the bottoms of said wings against the frame, the forward end of the latch adapted to pars under said wings to raise said pins out of the path of the inner cams as the latch moves forwardly.

6. In a device according to claim 1, an upstanding pin carried by each cam, a latch slidably mounted in the frame above the cams and plunger, said latch having openings into which said pins extend, an upstanding element onthe plunger engaging within an elongated orifice in the latch, laterally extending wings carried by each of said spaced apart pins, spring means normally forcing the pins downwardly to engage the bottoms of said wings against the frame, the forward end of the latch inclined downwardly and adapted to pass under said wings to raise said pins out of the path of the inner cams as the latch moves forwardly.

7. In a device according to claim 1, in which the frame is provided. at one side with orifice permitting insertion of a wire therethrough, a cutter element mounted in the frame, said cutter element positioned to co-operate with a cutter element formed at the front end of one of the outer cams.

8. A device according to claim 1, in which the pivot pin for the cams is positioned in alignment with the longitudinal center of a the plunger and the cams are disposed symnetrically on each side of said longitudinal center line.

A device according to claim 1, in which he pivot pin for the cams is positioned in alignment with the longitudinal center of the plunger and the cams are disposed symmetrically on each side of said longitudinal center line, the lateral marginal edges of the inner cams being arcs of circles and the out-er cams being arcuate and having sliding engagement betweei said marginal edges of the inner cams and arcuate bearing guides formed in the frame.

10. A device according to claim 1, in which the pivot pin for the cams is positioned in alignment with the longitudinal center of the plunger and the cams are disposed symmetrically on each side of said longitudinal center line, the lateral marginal edges of the inner cams being arcs of circles and the outer'cams being arcuate and having sliding engagement between said marginal edges of the inner cams and arcuate bearing guides formed in the frame, the front end of the plunger being inclined rearwardly at each side thereof, the rear ends of the outer cams engaging said inclined portions of the plunger during the first part of the forward movement of the plunger and engaging the straight sides of the plunger during the latter part of its forward movement.

1].. A device according to claim 1, in which the pivotpin for the cams is positioned in alignment with the longitudinal center of the plunger and the cams are disposed symmetrically on each side of said longitudinal center line, the lateral marginal edges of the inner cams being arcs of circles and the outer cams being arcuate and having sliding engagcment between said marginal edges of the inner cams and arcuate bearing guides formed in the frame, the cams being so proportioned that when all are in their rearmost positions the outer cams extend rearwardly beyond the inner cams.

12. A device according to claim 1, in which the front end of the frame is cut away to form a V-shaped recess therein across which the wire extends when in its initially inserted position in the frame, the inner cams projecting intosaid recess when in their forwardmost position.

JOHN DANIEL CLEMENCE. 

